Working Mothers Still Do Most of the Work at Home

Working mothers in Korea spend more time on housework and childcare than working fathers, according to a recent survey of 1,600 working mothers by KB Financial Group.

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The first thing mothers do when they come home from work is prepare a meal (49.9 percent), take care of their children (22.7 percent) and other household chores (7.9 percent). Only 3.2 percent said they spend time for themselves.

But most of the fathers (46.4 percent) have a meal as soon as they get home. Before going to work in the morning, mothers spend more time preparing breakfast for their family (35.1 percent) than getting ready for work (31.9 percent).

When it comes to childcare, they get more help from their mothers (28.8 percent) than their husbands (25.3 percent) and pay an average of W770,000 per month to look after their kids (US$1=W1,133).

Although they struggle balancing work and family, nine out of 10 working women said they still want to build their career. Some 83 percent want to stay in their current job, while 12.6 percent would consider leaving for another job or starting their own business. Only 4.4 percent said they would prefer not to work.

Their main reason for staying in work was to help relieve the financial burden on their family (60.8 percent), earn more money (43.4 percent) and self-fulfillment (21.7 percent).